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I have to confess, when I went to Harare, it was meant to be purely for experiencea��s sake as we are due to host our own Bulawayo Street Carnival on 27 September.
We always have our own ways and means of doing things, we always dare to be different. I was not prepared to be amazed by the Harare International Carnival in its third year and this year was the best according to many.
Carnivals are about colour, marching, the dance, the performances and obviously the need to party.
I arrived there on Friday, welcomed by traffic resembling the busy London street, something I have never seen in Harare. I then knew that something was up, the streets were already colourful with different kinds of t-shirts all screaming carnival. Hotel check-in wasna��t as easy as at other times, it was good to see a few familiar faces from Bulawayo.
Our first stop was at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) offices in the evening. Everyone there was on their toes working on registrations, accreditations and logistics, we went there thinking that we were visitors, only to be drafted into the carnivala��s route managera��s team.
The following morning we went there with no expectations, something you learn in event management to avoid disappointment. At 9am there were just a few groups, at that time I would not have imagined a sea of people. First in line were the motor vehicles and bikers, it was like watching an episode of Fast and Furious. Cars and bikes were defying gravity or bending the laws of physics, skidding left, right and centre. Up next was the army band followed by schools, universities and traditional groups. It was beautiful but far from wow!
Please note, that I am rushing here so that I tell you about Christ Embassy, the church numbered about 400 people, the effort was far from anything I have ever seen. They wore designer costumes that you can only expect to see at The Rio Carnival, the colours were well co-ordinated, their choreography was deep, it was good to see Willis Wattafi of the Africa Revenge fame being part of the entourage.
Dancehall music has truly firmed its roots in Harare. A performance by Soul Jah Love in one of the trucks brought the carnival procession to a stand still.
Up next was the main event. The only other time I have seen so many people was in The Million Men March, one could barely manoeuvre the stage as the venue was world class, I have also only ever seen such at Glastonbury Festival in England; I am certain getting on such a stage is every performera��s dream, sadly though, some of the performances were not up to scratch .
TheA� good thing is that the usual Gurus like Jah Prayzah, Peter Moyo and Winky D did live up to their acclaim. Maybe let me just mention Chengeto Brown; she tried her best to follow in Chiwonisoa��s shoes. As is becoming the culture with all big events it ended prematurely at around 2.45am.
It still stands as one of the biggest events I have ever attended in Zimbabwe, if we are to get a 10th of the audience that I saw there for Bulawayo I would be very happy. Until next week, be safe . . . @nkuenkala
Online Reporter